WCR This Week

OTTAWA — Only two per cent of single women who face an unplanned pregnancy choose to give their child up for adoption.

LifeCanada, a pro-life educational organization, has launched an awareness campaign so more women will consider this option.

“Adoption is a good choice, and birth parents deserve all of the information available about this choice,” says project director, Anastasia Bowles in a release. “They need to know that times have changed.”

Adoption remains a “frightening and unthinkable prospect” for many, who think it means giving up their child to complete strangers, the release says. The campaign aims to show the many options women have when it comes to adoption.

“They need to know that open adoption — where the birth parents select the adoptive families and negotiate future contact and involvement — is common practice today,” Bowles said. “They need to know that there is help for them and there are people who will support them.”

“We hope to change attitudes with this campaign,” she added. “Typically, even the language commonly used about adoption is negative.”

RESPECT FOR WOMEN

LifeCanada promotes “respect for those women who have made that difficult but heroic choice.”

“In the past, adoptions were secret, shame-filled proceedings,” Bowles said. “Even today, a stigma remains attached to adoption.”

“The Adoption in Canada campaign helps to raise awareness of infant adoption in Canada,” said MP Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon-Wanuskewin, CPC, who sits on the parliamentary human resources committee.

“The campaign promotes respect for adoptive families, adoptees and especially, birth parents, recognizing that all have a unique and important role in strengthening Canadian families and communities.”

The media campaign targets women aged 18 to 29 through a website www.adoptionincanada.ca; a toll-free helpline and video testimonials.